Title: Kamaboko

Rating: Mature

Disclaimer: I wish the boys were mine, but they're not! I borrowed the characters from the incomparable Takanaga-sensei.

Warning: AU Fantasy based very loosely on Hans Christian Anderson's "The Little Mermaid."

Note: This is my first time trying my hand at a fantasy, so bear with me. :D

Chapter 1

Green eyes looked out at the vast ocean with excitement. It was the first time in his life that Tetsuhiro had traveled by ship and the ten year old was more than transfixed by it. The way the sailors worked together to keep the ship steered properly and the sheer physicality of it all had him watching raptly. His fascination did not go unnoticed. One of the older deckhands chuckled as he walked over to the boy.

"Where be yer pa, boy?" he asked with a knowing smirk.

"He's down below. I don't think he likes the water," he answered with a small apologetic smile.

The old man laughed at that, "Yeah, figured as much. Not all men c'n handle tha waves. Ye got the makin's of a real seaman, ye do."

Tetsuhiro grinned and sat down next to the man when he gestured for him to join him. The seaman was ancient to the young boy's eyes. He was gnarled and wrinkled by too much time in the sun. His once brown hair was turning gray and when he walked, it was with a limp. He thoroughly captivated the boy's romantic spirit.

As they sat together the man told stories of the sea in between showing Tetsuhiro different knots and explaining their uses on board. The brunette boy asked intelligent questions and listened wholeheartedly to stories of storms weathered and pirates vanquished. Toward the end of their afternoon together, the old man wound up his stories with one he'd been saving for a while.

"Have ye ever heard tell of the Mer?" he asked with a twinkle in his eye. When Tetsuhiro shook his head he continued, "Well boy, they're the rulers of the ocean." He went on to tell wild tales of the Mer's kingdom at the bottom of the deep sea; how they lived in caves and rode seahorses. Tetsuhiro loved the stories but of course didn't actually believe them. They were myths to fill the time and the old man was a wonderful storyteller. He finished with, "An' the Mer always know when we worthless humans encroach on their territory. Whenever a young one, like you is lost at sea a member of their tribe is there to take them down to their kingdom to become one of their number."

That got Tetsuhiro's attention, "You mean they kidnap children?" he asked, nervous in spite of his doubts.

"No laddie, they save 'em. Otherwise they would drown."

A few days later, Tetsuhiro woke to lowering skies and flashes of lightening. His father told him the Captain wanted all civilians to stay in their cabins until the storm blew over. The boy was disappointed, he hated being cooped up, but he understood that he would only be in the way on deck.

As the morning wore on the sea became a mass of rolling waves, tossing the ship around mercilessly. Tetsuhiro's father collapsed onto his bed with the chamber pot next to him, 'just in case.' The boy understood and wanted to be no where near his retching father. The sounds made him very squeamish.

He played quietly until he realized his father had finally fallen asleep. Seeing this as a good time to sneak out for a while and get some fresh air, the boy quietly worked his way up and forward in order to see what was happening on deck. His eyes widened in shock when he finally saw what was going on.

It looked like the end of the world had arrived; and for them it might actually be the case. The ship was still being tossed around like a toy in some evil giant's hand. The sea was boiling within the storm, with waves that crested even higher than the ship's deck. The deck hands had secured themselves to the ship with rope and worked to keep the vessel upright. It was insane and the boy watched in fascinated horror; mouth hanging open.

He couldn't hear what the men were shouting to each other, the storm was too loud for that; but he could guess by their gestures. There seemed to be something wrong on the starboard side. He leaned out of his hidey-hole and saw smoke. He frowned, not understanding the implications and moved carefully outside to get a better look. Just as he realized what exactly was wrong, he was spotted and the deck hand that had become something of a mentor to him rushed over and yanked him below decks once more.

The man grabbed him by his shoulders and yelled over the sounds of the storm, "Boy, whare's ya Da?"

"In our cabin. He's been sick and is napping."

"Go git 'im. Lightening jest hit the ship and she's goin' down. We need to abandon 'er," he shook Tetsuhiro's shoulders to emphasize the seriousness of what was happening. The boy nodded and took off for their room to wake his father. He made it back in record time and started shaking him awake.

"Papa! Wake up!" he yelled in his father's face. The poor man cracked his eyes open blearily and looked at his son.

"What's happening Tetsu?" he asked in confusion.

"We have to leave! The ship was struck by lightening and is burning. I was told we had to get on deck to board the lifeboats." His father's eyes widened and he quickly stood up, only to stagger a bit as he and his son headed for the door. They managed to make it back up on deck, even with the ship beginning to list as it was tossed pitilessly in the storm.

When one of the deckhands saw them they were ushered to the side and helped down into one of the small lifeboats. It was the two of them and two seamen; one was Tetsuhiro's elderly friend. The ocean was choppy as they moved away from the doomed ship; lightening flashing and rain drilling down onto them. Tetsuhiro had no idea how they'd stay afloat as the small boat kept getting swamped by the waves. Neither did the grown men, although they weren't about to vocalize their fears in front of the boy.

After that everything happened so fast, Tetsuhiro couldn't keep up. Loud thunder boomed and there was a crack of violent lightening; the little boat practically launched itself into the air and the screaming began. Tetsuhiro was suddenly submerged in the water and right before he passed out, he realized that the one screaming had been him.

Tetsuhiro had no idea how long he'd been unconscious when he finally came to. He was still in the water, draped over a piece of what was left of the lifeboat, and completely alone. He raised his head to look around and all he could see was more water. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened them wide as he looked around. He was completely alone and adrift in the ocean with no land in sight. He began to whimper but then he shook his head, 'No! I'm a big boy now...I can't cry. I won't.' Then he continued thinking, 'I hope Papa is alright. I have to get back to him...to home. I won't give up!' His eyes grew determined as he looked around once more and picked a direction to head towards.

He had no clue how long he'd been paddling when he saw birds circling overhead. He remembered reading that a large group of birds flying like that meant that land was nearby so he headed towards them. They were further away than they looked and he became tired long before he got close enough to see what they were agitated about. As he rested across the part of boat he clung to, he watched up ahead. The birds would swoop down and then fly back up above the water. At first he had believed they were catching fish but as he watched he realized they had nothing in their mouths when they flew out away from the water. His curiosity spiked, he found the energy to begin paddling towards his goal again.

As he slowly drew closer Tetsuhiro began to scan the water and he saw what at first looked like...a big fish. 'Those birds have delusions of grandeur if they think they'll catch that!' he thought to himself in somewhat delirious amusement. He wondered if he was hallucinating at first. He drew even closer and he cleared his sight enough from the water spray to see...hair. The 'fish' seemed to have hair; blonde hair, no less. The 'fish' was wildly waving its arms at the birds and leaping around in the water as if to scare them off. By that point Tetsuhiro knew he was seeing things but it was amusing and he had nothing better to do, so he continued to approach the vision in the water.

The vision yelled agitatedly and his voice was that of a male albeit a young one. He spoke in a language Tetsuhiro couldn't understand; although he could tell that the boy was angry at the birds. As Tetsuhiro approached the other male suddenly tuned around with an extreme look of stunned disbelief. He asked the brunette boy a question.

"I'm sorry, I don't understand you," Tetsuhiro responded pleasantly as he gazed at his supposed delusion. The other boy tilted his head and looked supremely irritated at Tetsuhiro, then he looked around trying to decide where the brunette had come from.

"The ship I was on sank in the storm yesterday...at least I think it was yesterday," he continued conversationally. "I don't have any idea where I am and I should really find land now. You wouldn't by any chance be able to point me in the right direction, would you?"

The blonde's look softened as he realized that the other boy was on his last leg; completely exhausted. He swam over and touched Tetsuhiro's sleeve. "This is the realist hallucination ever," the spent boy said as he began to slide off his bit of wood and into the water. As he passed out he felt strong arms wrap around him and heard that mysterious dialect murmur in his ear. The voice was still a bit irritated but also soothing and reassuring; and somehow he knew he'd be alright.

When Tetsuhiro woke again, he was lying face down in wet sand with water lapping around his legs. He dragged himself into a sitting position and looked around. A little way away in the slightly deeper water sat his savior. When the brunette finally got a good look at him he really couldn't believe his eyes. The blonde was...beautiful. He had long blonde hair and a finely boned face with high cheekbones and amber eyes that reflected the sun and looked glowing in its setting rays. Tetsuhiro stood up and moved toward the other boy.

"Did you save me?" he asked. The other one just shrugged and then slowly nodded. "Thank you so much!" Tetsuhiro smiled. "I can't even begin to tell you how grateful I am!"

The blonde blushed slightly and nodded again, quickly looking away.

"Um, where am I?" Tetsuhiro asked while looking around. "Can you tell me?"

The other boy looked a bit discombobulated by the question but before he could answer he heard voices and knew the brunette was about to be found. He also knew he couldn't let himself be seen by the humans so he shook his head and turned to swim back out to sea. He had to hurry or his family would worry. It wouldn't do to be late for dinner. He quickly swam out a ways and turned back once to wave at the brunette boy he had helped. Said boy had a look of shock on his face as he slowly raised his hand to wave back.

'I can't believe it,' Tetsuhiro thought to himself as the Mer disappeared and the villagers approached him. 'They really do exist.'

A/N: There you go with Chapter 1! It's just a short one to set the scene for what's going to happen later.:) I also have to say the title was difficult to come up with and my rather bad sense of humor took over. I do like a good pun! Til next time!